Community Board To Vote On Proposed Caton Place Towers Next Week

KENSINGTON, BROOKLYN — Community Board 7 will decide next week whether or not developers can build two high-rise towers near the Kensington Stables.

Community board members will vote to either recommend or reject developers’ plans to construct two nine-story towers at 57 Caton Place during a public meeting slated for Wednesday night, according to the agenda.

Owners — identified in city records as 57 Caton Place LLC — are seeking permission to rezone the site, which would allow them to build 95-foot-tall towers with 107 residential units (25 percent of which would be designated affordable) and a market on the ground floor.

Bloggers at Karma Brooklyn, who first reported the scheduled vote, listed numerous concerns how a large housing development might affect the neighborhood, noting it might cause overcrowding in schools and subways, an increase in car traffic and strain on the sewer system.

Should the community board vote to recommend rezoning the land — currently home to a warehouse — developers will still need to seek approval from city council.

Marcie Kesner, a planner with the firm Kramer Levin, first presented the plans at a meeting hosted by City Councilman Brad Lander in 2017.

At the time, residents raised concerns about the buildings’ height and their proximity to the Kensington stables.

"The pony rides and the parties are really a part of what makes the neighborhood special,” said Kesner. “We're designing the building to deal with the odor."

The community board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on May 16th at 4201 4th Ave.

Photo by Patch editor Marc Torrence